Wildcats Unable to Stop Broncos after Late Rally

By Josh Walker

            In another classic rivalry game between Central and Zachary, it was the Broncos came out on top with a 42-38 win. The Wildcats fumbled the opening kickoff, and Zachary scored a touchdown on a three-play drive. Zachary scored again on a touchdown pass from Mason Pace just five minutes later to take a 14-0 lead, but then the Wildcats came alive. Brett Courville had a 21-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion pass to John Davis to cut the lead to 14-8. Courville also had a one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter while the Broncos scored two times to take a 28-14 lead.

            Zachary scored again to open up the second half to take a 21-point lead. The Wildcats mounted an 11-play, 68-yard drive capped off by a 17-yard, fourth down touchdown pass from Courville to Gary Triplet. After a Bronco fumble on the first play from scrimmage in the fourth quarter, Courville scored his third rushing touchdown of the game to make the score 35-30. The Wildcats got the defensive stop they were looking for when Tim Colomb intercepted a Mason Pace pass on the Bronco 36-yard line and returned it to the 20 to set up a Zack Evans two-yard touchdown run. Evans would also run the two-point conversion in to take a 38-30 lead with six minutes to go. Unfortunately, the Broncos took advantage of those six minutes as they drove 78 yards in two minutes to take the lead that would be the final score at 42-38. The Wildcats did get the ball again and looked to be moving down the field before a holding call killed any chance of scoring.

            The Wildcats had their best offensive game of the season Friday night by getting 413 yards of offense (272 rushing, 141 passing). Brett Courville shined again, scoring four touchdowns. He completed 12 out of his 25 passes for 141 yards and ran the ball for 80 yards on 21 carries. Zack Evans was the Wildcats leading rusher with 89 yards on 12 carries. Gary Triplet ran for 74 yards, and Devon Gales ran for 29. Gales also led the Wildcats in receiving yards with 60. Zack Hetrick came up with a big 35-yard reception, and Jeremy Anderson had a 20-yard reception.

            Central’s defense looked shaky at times but came up with some big plays to keep the Wildcats in the game. They forced two second half turnovers that led to 15 points. Freshman Kevin Henry and Zach Hetrick led the Wildcats in tackles with 8 each. Antonio Ragusa had 7 1/2, and Logan Metcalfe had 7.

            After the game, Coach Dotson said, “I’m proud of you guys. It took a lot to come back from 21 points down and make a game of it. We just have to keep working hard at it.” It was impressive to see this young team battle back as well as they did. It looked like one of the classic Central teams. Although it was heartbreaking to see the game end the way it did, the Wildcats proved that they wouldn’t quit. That’s something that will never change.